OneMoSalah

Fs it was one game. What a little whining bitch. He was really shite as well hence why he got subbed, didnt track his full back, wasnt productive, gave the ball away a lot... the sort of thing you get dragged off in the biggest game of the season against your biggest rivals. If thats him and his representatives mentality, I dont care how good he can be, screams avoid to me. He has been disciplined by Dortmund as well already this season for returning late from NT duty too. You'd think their manager had done something a lot worse for him to be feeling humilitated and like a scapegoat other than sub him for a below par performance. His team got beat 4-0 by their biggest rivals a year after theyd beat Bayern and looked comfortably better but weeks later he and his entourage come out with this pish albeit it indirectly? And the lack of support from senior players? Dortmund are one of the best clubs for a young player to play at. Just sounds like an excuse or a motivation for an exit. Fucks wrong with football these days?

Must win. No excuses. Simple as that.

Wouldnt say there in top 10 of Europe this season. Yes the footballs good to watch, Ill agree there but they arent in the top 10 teams this season. Yes Ziyech, Neres, Tadic and Blind all contributed last year but de Jong and de Ligt were the clear stand outs for me and Tangliafico (spelling?) caught my eye, the LB, looks like he could easily play at a higher level. Even last year, I would of still thought we could beat Ajax (would of been tougher than this season 100%), especially with Ruben and Eden. They are a good team yea, still though a team who have lost their 2 best players and quite frankly if we defended better in the 4-4 game we would and should of beat them. For me, we should be beating Valencia too, who yes are a good team but youd still expect us to win them games if I'm honest. We arent the finished article I know but games against Ajax and Valencia should be winnable for this group of players. Obviously didnt pan out that way but I wouldnt say they are big games, like the City and Liverpool games were. Given how we played against Liverpool (CL winners) in the supercup and got at City yesterday at times, not winning those CL games v Ajax and Valencia at the Bridge doesnt look quite as good either, if I am honest. Even at times how we got at United in the first game. We are definitely capable of beating Ajax and Valencias.

I thought in the games against Arsenal and Spurs last season he was good? Struggled defensively for a period v Arsenal in that 3-2 game actuallu but the whole team did and in the community shield he wasnt much use. Also vs Arsenal in the europa final as well as v City in the other final last season thought he played well too.... maybe just me. Struggled yesterday though for sure.

I get the CL games are big games usually but even then wouldnt necessarily say Ajax is as big a game to be counted as that. Theyre a good team but I did think we should be beating them for sure. They lost their 2 best players in the summer, who were hugely fundamental in how they got to the CL semis last year along with Dusan Tadic. The big league games weve played weve dropped points and that is a shame. Spurs and Arsenal to come yet hopefully have more luck, although big games were a problem even under Sarri and Conte in his 2nd year.

Bad result. Both City and United weve dropped points to. Defensive mistakes again. The top 4 race is going to be interesting, alaays was gonna be this season, although especially even more so if we cant keep clean sheets against top teams.

If he had said it, 100% Id get it but its all very much hearsay. An article from the Metro quoting Marca, who if I remember correctly are very pro Madrid and going on how his time there finished, isnt exactly the most reliable or unbiased source out there.

Spurs record with youth the last 5 and a half years is hardly outstanding though so not sure why Levy buying youngsters is going to be a given. Other than Deli Alli, Juan Foyth, Eric Dier, Ryan Sessengon and Davinson Sanchez who all signed as 20 or under.. the rest have been guys like Eriksen, Son, Vertonghen, Alderwereild, Wanyama, Sissoko etc who were already more established players before going to Spurs, having played a lot of games prior to their moves since young ages. Spurs academy cant be that fantastic either because other than Harry Winks, Walker Peters and Oliver Skipp the rest of their squad arent from the academy. Harry Winks is only the one guy out of those who plays regularly too. Not saying its a write off but you look at Pochettinos work at Southampton who had a good academy and compare it to the players he took through at Spurs... Doesnt matter to me if those players were successful or not, you said nobody wanted or would want to play for him in this day and age when clearly players still will. Big players too like Pogba who was already in one of the top teams in Europe, Ibrahimovic who could have gone anywhere, Sanchez who could have gone anywhere.... Football players arent the same as they were 10 years ago I get that but the likes of Conte and Mourinho (both very similar approach) still get jobs and still have players wanting to play for them. Especially if they are competing for cups and leagues.

The whole developing youth into world class thing, its a bit of a controversial subject. Are you mentioning this because Poch did this (well other than Kane who else has he done this for? Even at Southampton?) or because Frank is playing the kids here? Are we comparing Frank to Jose now too? Without thinking of youth, he signed the likes of Varane and played him every week at Real Madrid when he was 18 for 2 seasons or so before he left. Also even then he signed guys like Ozil, Khedira, who yes all had very good world cups but hadnt done much in Germany and they undoubtedly improved under him. Angel Di Maria the same. Definitely improved Benzema. When he came back here again for his second spell, Cahill improved, Ramires improved, Azpi improved, Hazard improved... your not going to say he hasnt improved any players are you? Even at United. Maybe not all of them or a lot of them were world class under him but the improvement was clear to see. Even at Inter, older guys like Eto'o hit another level, so did Sneidjer, so did Militio and so did Ibrahimovich which is why he got that Barca move. Also talking about the lure of playing for him, Lukaku turned down us for him and Sanchez turned down City and Pep for him. He convinced Pogba. He convinced Ibra to go to United aged 35. Yes his style isnt amazing but cmon, to say players wont want to play him for him still in thia day and age, is a bit ridiculous and sounds like a bit of bitterness in all honestly. Still dont get why Jose gets under our fans skin so much hes always been a grade A prick regardless of what team you support 😂

Ndombele and Lo Celso maybe arent high profile but they were still players who were followed by huge clubs. Also 2 very good players. Doesnt neccessarily have to be big name players, just has to be the right player and more importantly guys who step it up in big games. So maybe big players the wrong term to use but still, if anybody thinks Spurs wont spend any money like under Poch with Mourinho, sadly they are mistaken, no way he takes the job if so. Maybe not in January but you can understand because its tough to buy for most clubs but come the summer they will undoubtedly try and get a few players in and known Mourinho they will not be young unproven kids but guys in their prime. Players will want to go there just to work with Mourinho as well. Just as they do at City to work with Pep or at Liverpool with Klopp or as they did at United with Fergie etc. Mourinho still has that lure to clubs and players, hence why despite being sacked 3 times in his last 3 jobs, he has gotten good jobs regardless. Doesnt matter what anyone thinks of him, good or bad, he was always mentioned when he was out of work for Real Madrid, PSG, Spurs even another spell here was touted.

True. I still think theyll need 4 or 5 big players in the summer at least to go for the title. Their objective has to be recovering for top 4 this season. As I mentioned above theres plenty of football left and they have got more than enough about them in terms of the fact theyve got the bones of a capable team. After 5 and a half years under Poch maybe short term gain isnt the worst way to go for 2 seasons or so, not neccessarily going to work but they are in the most successful period theyve had for years and have nothing to show for it in terms of silverwear. Spurs need a change up anyway if you look at their squad, certain players look jaded and uncommitted, the likes of Alderwereild, Vertonghen and Eriksen. Mourinhos appointment will go either one of two ways for them guys, theyll want to stay and play for him or they wont and he will bin them for other players.

They are 11 points behind the top 4 so mathematically they are hardly out of it, considering there is still like 26 games to play which is plenty of points to play for. Just as City arent out of the title race either. Or like they weren't last year when they were 11 or 12 points behind Liverpool before going on to win it. FA cup isnt important? What about when we won it under Antonio, Robbie, Carlo or Jose? Every trophy is important. Especially if your a team like Spurs who havent won a trophy since like 2008. Nobody expected them to get to a CL final either last season just as nobody expected us to get to it in 2012. Would be very careful writing Mourinho and Spurs off this season. Not saying they will win anything or that, it depends how they get on under him but a new manager coming in at bigger clubs always seem to get a bounce from their players. The fact theres so much football left to play saying anybody is guaranteed top 4 other than Liverpool and probably City just now even though we and Leicester are above them is arrogant. We may be above City but they will definitely come back and compete for the title. Leicester will be fighting for the top 4 at the least, Spur can still get up the table and will be looking to get top 4 as 11 points is only 4 games over the course of a season and other teams will drop points, Arsenal are 6th and will be wanting top 4, United are 7th and in the same boat... nobody's guaranteed top 4 finish 12 games. Theres too much football to be played yet.

Who says anything about topping their group? Theyve basically already qualified and Bayern already have. Even then theres 2 games left and it would take something ridiculous for Spurs not to get 1 point from the last 2 games. And to be honest I think people are downplaying Spurs because it is Jose Mourinho theyve appointed and thats it. They are a team who with the same squad got to a CL final the previous season. Fully firing Kane and Eriksen would walk into most of the top teams in the PL and arguably some of Europe's. Son is another very good player, Ndombele and Lo Celso too. Spurs do have the guts of a very good team. Theres weaknesses, like most teams, but I think if you look at what theyve achieved under Poch and now how this season went, they probably can't get any worse. And lightening doesn't strike twice? Real won what only the 4 CLs in a row with Zidane, United got to 2 CL finals in a row with Fergie, Liverpool did with Klopp..... little bit of luck and good results you never know, thats the beauty of knockout football. Not as if these teams didnt get lucky at any point, they would have. Not saying it will happen with Spurs but when teams make it into the last 8, which depending on the draw who knows who will, I think they reckon theyve as good a chance as anybody. Spurs have the capabilities to be in that mix if things start well for Jose and he gets them on a run, even then I think some people forget the amount of big results hes pinched as a manager through shrewd tactical displays over his time. Hes maybe not been as good as he has been since Inter and Real but people are thinking hes spent, you could argue this is ultimately his last big chance in the PL based on his last few jobs. I think he will be aware that he cant just finish 4th and do what Poch had been doing to have his appointment justified so I am expecting him to try take Spurs to the next level. Whether they get there, not sure, because they need a few players in key positions particularly in defence but I wouldnt write Spurs or Mourinho off completely. I think people think hes nowhere near as good a manager as Pochettino and I would almost certainly agree if Pochettino's greatest achievements result wise in club football as a manager weren't finishing 2nd behind a Antonio Conte managed Chelsea team and then losing a CL final to Liverpool. But thats just me. Its not as open or closed as that obviously but he lacks the silverware to accompy what he did at Spurs in 5.5 years. Why do you think Jose got a second spell here, or a job at United and now a job at Spurs? Look at the trophies hes won. Thats the attraction for clubs. They want to win and be successful. A guy with x amount of trophies in big leagues will always be an attractive option.

I dont think theyll have proper funds avaliable to get 3 or 4 big players until the summer, even then like most clubs buying in January, its always difficult. Theres plenty to there to work with for anyway. Actually intrigued to see if he has changed in any way as someone said in another thread this is really his last big chance at club level, unless Madrid are willing to go back for him in a few seasons (wouldnt think theyd fancy it because Pochettino is on a free maybe and likely their top bet if Zizou gets chucked). I am actually more interested to see where Poch goes from here because if it is a Bayern or Real who have been linked in the past, like Juve, he will have to win and for someone who disregards domestic cup competitions, it will need to be a change in mindset from him. This appointment makes the games against them even more interesting. Love him or hate him, personally I am excited Jose has stayed in the PL, he may be a bit of a idiot at times but he is top entertainment regardless of if you agree with him or not 🤣

Strange for someone to make that claim because as soon as he went to Juventus he was a bit of a cunt according to certain percentages of the fan base on the likes of social media and that. Funny how things change now Jose went to Spurs 🤣 Dont see why people still let Jose get under their skin, he did the same here to opposition coaches/players/fans etc in both his spells here albeit differently. His thing has always been psychology, getting under folks skins, be it mind games, going to other clubs whatever and then building up a sort of us v them group mentality. Enough Mourinho. Hopefully Pulisic is fit to play, he could do some real damage I think.

I dont think anybody is overrating Spurs regardless of where they are just now. We all know how good they are. Out of form but who would of said this season we would finish above them especially after appointing Frank and losing Eden? Id imagine a lot wouldnt be so sure. They still have got some top players in key positions, for instance Kane, Eriksen, Alderweireld and Lloris are all arguably in the top 5 of their respective positions in the league. Think Jose fits Spurs in terms of what they need the now like a glove. They need to go back to basics in terms of without the ball, shore up in midfield because they are caught on the transition too easily and once they cut out individual errors as well theyll not be as easy to beat as they have been. Tactically he will probably play 4231 which they already use but tweak it. Spurs have never had someone who has that huge winning mentality either. Whether or not his last few jobs ended up with sackings in the third season, he still has won more than Pochettino in the last 5 years. Go back before that and look at his trophy haul, that will make the players respect him from the get go. While going in and winning the CL is maybe a tall order they are already qualified from the group. Knockout football is as much luck as anything else, Di Matteo coming in here in 2012 shows that, you get the rub of the green in some games and big game players to deliver, so who knows? Hopefully it doesn't happen but I am still surprised hes went to Spurs as it is, if he went and won a trophy in his first season.... they have good enough players to challenge for cups/leagues I think but they severely lack depth though in positions such as RB (well if Aurier was our RB I'd want an upgrade 🤣), LB (same as with Aurier, Rose/Davies could be upgraded on definitely), CF and out wide which is why theyve always come up short in my opinion. They rode their luck last season As I said up there, in knockout football, you need luck at times. The run up to the final in 2012 prime example as well as the final too. Messi hitting the bar from that penalty Barca got against us, Gomez missing countless chances he would of buried in any other game that season or next, Cavani missing sitters... luck certainly can help in certain details.

Looking increasingly better every time I watch him. Very talented boy. Not be long before Juventus want him or Inter try to resign him.

4 days rest is more than plenty of time. Hes made it through unscathed despite people thinking he should of been rested. Less international breaks throughout the season would be better but wont happen quickly enough.

True and it was actually confirmed Carlo wanted Torres. So maybe Aguero wasnt the right fit for what Carlo wanted. Still think Dzeko would of been a even better fit for us but City got him from Wolfsburg.

Probably all true. This is why Hazard with all the ability he has, will still never get to that next level because he is a bit more chilled out and perhaps lazier than someone of his level should be. I doubt Mikel meant this in a bad way because he knew first hand Eden is so good but with a little more dedication he could potentially go that step closer to those 2 at the top. I think Cesc said if he was more greedier and wanted to score more goals or be a bit more selfish he could have gotten closer too. Was the start of last season he said that IIRC.

I think this is probably the most bullshit story theyve posted about us in a while. As if JT would of said that and as if the club, who are so thorough and during that time, did brilliant recruitment would not go for Aguero due to JT saying something like that. I know there was the Ribery and Villa quote he put out (that article has it there too) but we didnt get realisitcally close to signing either of them either. We probably never went for Aguero because at the time Anelka and Deogba were playing well. Will be as simple as that.

Kante probably needed the minutes having not played for a few weeks being out with an injury but as I said in another thread, still no gripe regarding Mancini using Jorginho who was fully fit and not injured beforehand. Regardless, Kante being fit again is very good for us, especially with the City game coming up. Hopefully go with a 3 man MF with Kovacic-Jorginho-Kante.

Im still on the fence regarding these comments as some of it I'd say is spot on and some of it ie the comments after United game, is a bit off. I have really enjoyed him and Keane on Sky because they are straight up and arent biased compared to Neville and Carragher who make it a United and Liverpool love in every game. Even if they arent fucking playing 😂 The whole youth thing will be reflecting poorly on Jose and Conte for definite. If the whole buzz around us playing the academy players is going to affect his judgement, which I dont think it will, then he shouldn't be a manager or a pundit. Hes left us a few times and weve done right enough and even at United when he went they improved for a while, I doubt that has affected his judgement or opinion on taking or not taking jobs or particularly bothered him at any level. I mean he managed us and ended up at United so if the whole buzz around our youth playing is affecting him then I will be really surprised. He said in a game of that dimension you need more and as youve said the teams not the finished article but Jose being Jose, I think hes talking about it from what he would expect. He mentioned the gaps between the midfield and defence not being right IIRC which was spot on as well as our press consisting of 4 players going and the rest of the team not going, which again was fair and spot on. I do agree with you regarding the whole tactics and experience thing, it is experience but you cant get experience as a kid if your not playing. I do still think the game v Liverpool in the supercup is the best of our big game performances this season. Theres still plenty to work on. Set pieces are horrific still. The Leicester game I think we were lucky we didnt lose because if Maddisons final ball was better theyd have won the game 100%. It was controlled to a point but the gaps were huge, Leicester just seemed to find it easy to get at the back line. I think if we sat a bit deeper, it would of suited us better because they'd have to pick us off and we would be a threat on the counter. Again though he is learning and he has been tweaking set piece defending etc to no avail because we still look ropey defending them. Franks a flexible manager, hes still very much learning as well so this teams trajectory can only go up as will his stock as a manager. I think he has exceeded expectations so far as youve mentioned were above City, have played better without making any signings etc but we still have plenty to do.

But again, in my eyes, regardless of if their qualified or not, that would be like saying it doesnt make sense for Frank to play him against a lesser team here in the PL or what. For all the NT games in a season as well, if youve got your best players avaliable surely it is in your best interest to use them to maximize the chance of winning? If he was carrying a knock or something I could understand them resting him. But he wasnt. He just sat 1 game out due to his suspension v Palace too so he would of been rested so to speak so Mancini is well within his rights to select him. We can't be selfish in a way where we want Jorginho or any fully fit international player to be able to play most games for us and get rested by their NT even if they are qualified or not. It has never really worked like that. Mancini having PL coaching experience from his time at City as well he will be aware that players he selects from there will play a lot of competitions and not have a winter break. It will be more up to Frank to find time and solutions to rest guys like Jorginho, Tammy, Kovacic etc who will have amassed X amount of minutes. In an ideal world there wouldnt be as many NT breaks but there is, so it will be a recurring theme all season, like England being qualified and playing Kane, Sterling etc when theyve played a lot as well this season. Its not just a Chelsea or a Jorginho specific problem.

Perhaps but again, what do you want Frank or Mancini to do? He is undoubtedly a key figure for club and country. He has played a lot but I doubt it is really going to benefit him if he plays 5 or 6 games in a row and is then rested for 2 weeks or whatever. He is in good form, has got good match rhythm so interrupting that, which it will happen eventually with the festive fixtures/cup games, may also affect his performances. The recovery time between games has been kind so far, obviously the fixtures are more crammed this time of year but I dont think he is any danger of being burnt out when we are only not even halfway into the season. If he was struggling with injuries or looking sluggish in his performances, then yes I'd see the point more but throughout his career at Napoli and here he has been pretty good for avoiding injuries and while that isnt always a guarantee, he played for how many years under Sarri who is notoriously known for a lack of rotation... and he was arguably one of the most key components of his side there and here. Obviously the team will change for the games coming up and he will be part of that in some capacity but I still think its being a bit over the top its not as if hes breaking down. I really dont think Frank and Jody would have played him so much if they were as concerned about his fitness/potentially picking up an injury due to being overplayed.